Australia’s supply security in the event of a crisis goes way beyond toilet paper hoarding. And the Government doesn’t want us to know about it. Rex Patrick in another battle for transparency.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) went in hard to defend secrecy around Australia’s preparedness to deal with a fuel security emergency. But they’ve been dealt a total defeat in the Administrative Review Tribunal, sadly at your expense.
In 2013, retired Air Vice Marshal John Blackburn produced a report into Australia’s Liquid Fuel Security for the NRMA. The report spelt out what would happen if Australian freight operations and logistics were shut down due to a lack of fuel.
Food would quickly run out. We have just over a week of dry goods consumption available at our supermarkets and about a week for chilled and frozen foods. Pharmacies will start running out of medicine in about a week.
And that’s if there isn’t panic buying, which COVID shows us would be highly likely. The thought of not having food in cupboards and fridges or prescription medicines would likely exercise people’s minds a lot more than not having toilet paper.
For hospitals, it’s even worse. Hospitals typically hold a three-day reserve. Local petrol stations would run out of fuel in three days.
Putting food and medicine aside, this would cripple the country economically.
Localised reserves (source: NRMA)
Our “just in time” economy and society is absolutely dependent on uninterrupted fuel supplies. And yet Australia has only 26 days of in-country supply of diesel.
Scrutiny required
In May 2023, I requested access to fuel security emergency documents. To be honest, I did it because I was preparing to write a fuel security article for MWM. My request entailed three documents:
- A report from a 2019 national fuel security exercise
- The minutes of two (then recent) meetings of the National Oil Supply Emergency Committee (NOSEC)
- The National Liquid Fuel Emergency Response Plan (NLFERP) Manuals
With fuel security being such an important issue, I wanted to see how well the Federal and State Governments fared on their most recent fuel security exercise and what was being discussed at the national gathering dealing with fuel security.
I also wanted to be able to see how the Government might react to a fuel supply emergency.
DCCEEW refused me access to everything. Not a single word was to be released to me.
I appealed their decision to the Administrative Review Tribunal. Throughout the year-long battle, the Department trickle-released a few and then more of the documents. It was like a slow-motion strip tease. But even then, the Department said the sky would fall in if some documents were released.
The Tribunal has now handed down its decision. Everything – except the names and contact details of officials, which I did not press for – is to be released to me.
Extract from the ART Decision
The cost of secrecy
Answers to Senate questions-on-notice by Senator Lambie show that the Department has spent $110,000 in their failed secrecy fight. That cost does not include the commercial counsel and two lawyers present for the hearing and the work in the immediate lead up to the hearing, A more reasonable estimate of the final bill to the unfortunate taxpayers will be closer to $150,000.
The arguments the Department and their lawyers adopted had more holes in them than a fuel strainer.
In relation to the fuel security report (Document 3) the Department argued that it might reveal vulnerabilities in our fuel security. The Tribunal did not agree, particularly noting the age of the report.
Extract from the ART Decision
When it came to to the minutes of the National Oil Supply Emergency Committee meetings, the Department argued that State officials might abandon their statutory duties to best represent their State if there was a risk of transparency. The Tribunal rejected that shrinking violet proposition.
Extract from the ART Decision
Regarding the National Liquid Fuel Emergency Response Plan Manuals, DCCEEW argued that releasing them would enable a foreign state actor to interfere with the national response to a fuel security emergency. The Tribunal was highly critical of the Department advancing this just on a vibe.
Extract from the ART Decision
In response to my submission that the cause of toilet paper panic during COVID was the result of a lack of public appreciation that toilet paper is actually made in Australia, the Tribunal recognised the benefit of the plan being publicly available, including to the media.
All up, DCCEEW has faced a humiliating defeat that has sadly cost the taxpayers significant money in commercial legal fees.
The largest frustration in all of this, and perhaps the biggest scam in the story, is that there will be no consequences for the erroneous decision made, the high cost to the taxpayer of the proceedings and the year long delay that’s been experienced in the release of the documents to the public.
There really needs to be some accountability here.
Bureaucrats who are found to have wilfully obstructed the release of information under the Freedom of Information regime and have had their decisions overturned should be subject to penalties including suspension without pay, demotion or other financial penalties.
A few heads on pikes might encourage a more positive culture of openness and transparency in the Australian Government.
Forget toilet paper — try no food, fuel or medicine. Why Canberra needs to act on fuel security
Rex Patrick is a former Senator for South Australia and earlier a submariner in the armed forces. Best known as an anti-corruption and transparency crusader, Rex is running for the Senate on the Lambie Network ticket next year - www.transparencywarrior.com.au.